Lycan's Prey by Jessica Hall

Chapter 137

“Aubrey? What are you doing in here?” Her voice is soft, but | can hear the tension beneath it as her bottom lip trembles, choking on emotion.

“I… I was just looking,” I stammer, unable to meet her gaze, but now I am curious. “Mom, why did you stop talking to Grandma?”

A heavy silence falls between us. I finally look up, and the sadness etched on her face makes my heart clench.

“There’s a lot you don’t know, sweetheart,” she says, sinking onto the edge of the bed.

“What do you mean?” I ask, my mind racing. “What happened?”

As I struggle to remember, a memory surfaces – bright and vivid. “We were at Grandma’s house. Me and Brielle, on our

bikes…”

Mom nods, her eyes glistening. “You were eleven.”

The scene unfolds in my mind like a forgotten photograph coming into focus. There we are, me and my sister, our smiles as wide as the summer sky above Granny’s house. We sat astride our bikes, hers was bubblegum pink, mine cobalt blue, both gleaming beneath the sun. That same bike became the instrument of unspeakable loss on the day she never came home.

I swallow hard, fighting back the tears that threaten to spill. “I

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reaches out, taking my hand in hers. “It’s okay, Aubrey. Some memories are too painful to hold

to understand.” A surge of sorrow washes over me, so fierce it threatens to pull me under. The memory of that day is a wound that

can see it all so clearly now; Grandma was on the porch, watching us. Brielle and I

flower–print dress flutters in the breeze, her hand shading her eyes as she watches us. Brielle’s pigtails bounce as she pedals furiously, always just out of my reach. We were so happy.

is loud but not as loud as Grandma’s scream which pierces the air, followed by a sickening bang. I spin around, seeing Grandma running towards us, her face contorted in horror. But Brielle… where’s Brielle?

her at first. People were running out

on the road. Her legs twisted grotesquely around her bike. Her golden hair fanned out on the asphalt. I rush to her side, my heart

to my knees and grasping her hand. “Can you hear

hurts.” she wails. “Why

Chapter 137

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the ground, and

she

to keep my voice steady as my childlike mind doesn’t understand

whispers, her words gurgling as blood spills from her lips. I glance around nervously. “You’re like Humpty Dumpty, remember? We’ll put you back together again. Just hold

air. “Someone call an ambulance!